


Hits Different

by sanctuary_for_all



Series: Building Something [3]
Category: 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)
Genre: Developing Relationship, Feels, Flirting, Fluff, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-14
Updated: 2020-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:20:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23136817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sanctuary_for_all/pseuds/sanctuary_for_all
Summary: A brief tale of shirts, names, and knowing what you want out of life even if you don't know why. (Set post season 1, about a month after T.K. gets back to work.)
Relationships: Carlos Reyes/TK Strand, Owen Strand & TK Strand
Series: Building Something [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1852441
Comments: 6
Kudos: 436





	Hits Different

T.K. still wasn't entirely sure why he stole Carlos's shirt. 

He had his own perfectly good polo shirts, though he hadn't happened to wear one there. Carlos was bigger through the shoulders than he was, which meant it wouldn't fit right, which defeated the entire reason to wear polo shirts in the first place. Beyond that, he _liked_ the shirt he'd worn there in the first place. It wasn't one of his hoodies, true, but it looked good on him. 

But that day was one of those where their shifts only barely overlapped, leaving T.K. heading out the door only a few hours after Carlos had made it into bed. He still tried to wake up the same time T.K. did, mumbling something incoherent and even half-trying to sit up, but T.K. just pushed him back down and pressed a kiss against his forehead. "Not a chance. The last thing either of us needs is for you to fall asleep at the wheel and smash your patrol car into something."

He didn't turn on the lights, not wanting to wake Carlos up, but it was still bright enough outside that there was no confusion about who's shirt he was picking up. He did it anyway, bringing it to his nose for the automatic sniff test he always did on his own clothing. It smelled clean, unsurprisingly – Carlos was much more faithful about that than he was – with just a trace of sweat and Carlos's deodorant. He took another deep inhale without letting himself think about it, lips curving as he pulled out on. Then he quietly finished getting ready, slipping out the door and heading to the station. 

Paul was already in the locker room when he got there, raising an amused eyebrow at T.K.'s wardrobe change. "That doesn't look like your shirt."

T.K. just grinned. "I'm dabbling in crime on my off hours. A little light burglary."

Paul chuckled. "I'll make sure not to tell any cops I might know."

Then they were all in uniform, and the next several hours were lost in the familar routines of the firehouse. Eventually, though, a patrol car pulled up in front of the station and Carlos poked his head out. "Tyler Kennedy," he called out, "did you steal my shirt?"

There was a chorus of "ooooohs" from above him. "Someone's in tro-uble!" Matteo sing-songed. 

"Maybe enough to get a span-king," Marjan added. 

T.K. flipped them both off, but he was grinning as he headed over to the patrol car. "I hear there's a missing shirt you're worried about, officer," he said, leaning his lower arms against the bottom edge of Carlos's open window. "Anything I can do to help?"

"I don't know." Carlos raised an eyebrow, his own lips curving upward. "You see any suspicious types lurking around the place?"

"I'll certainly keep an eye out." He leaned in a little more. "I could pick up some takeout after my shift, stop by so I can give you my report in person."

Carlos's lips curved upward even more. "Community involvement _is_ key to solving crimes."

"And you know how I _love_ to be involved in my community." They crossed the brief distance between them for a quick, soft kiss, warm and sweet. "See you then."

"See you." As T.K. pulled away, Carlos briefly put his hand over T.K.'s to stop him. "Hey." There was something soft and a little uncertain on his face. "I just... I liked you taking the shirt."

T.K.'s chest tightened. He'd finally started to see that he wasn't the only one with fragile places, a realization that had made him feel surprisingly protective. 

He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "That sounds like the kind of permission that'll leave you with an empty closet."

Carlos smiled, something like relief in his eyes. "I'll just take your hoodies." He squeezed T.K.'s hand and let go. "No sushi, okay?" he called out as he started to drive away.

"Only tourists eat takeout sushi!" he called back, grinning. Once he'd driven away, T.K. headed back into the station to find nearly the entire crew batting their eyelashes and making swooning gestures at him. He flipped them all off again, then headed to his dad. He'd been making a weird "parent" face T.K. hadn't been able to interpret, and it was probably a good idea to poke into that a little bit. 

His dad had already been back away from everyone else, and T.K. lowered his voice when he got close enough. "You okay?"

He looked startled at having been caught. "I'm fine." His expression went through a brief journey before landing back on something that was clearly supposed to be "normal." "Completely fine. Just enjoying the day." 

T.K. gave him a skeptical look. "Really? Because your face keeps disagreeing with you."

His dad struggled with it a moment longer, then allowed the betrayed look to escape. "You _hate_ it when I call you by your full name."

Surprise and relief that it was _that_ , of all things, transformed into humor. "What can I say?" He spread his hands out. "Getting full-named just hits different when it's your boyfriend. Especially when you're lugging around a name like Tyler Kennedy."

Now he looked indignant. "It's a perfectly good name!"

"It's certainly a long name." T.K. smiled, clapping a hand on his dad's shoulder. "I'll give you that."

His dad sighed, still smiling a little at the familar argument. "Fine, fine. Your mother and I should never have been let anywhere near a baby book." Then his expression sobered, a question in his eyes. "I never heard Alex call you that, either."

T.K. let out a breath at the mention of his ex-boyfriend, his own good humor fading. He'd once thought of Alex as his soulmate, and regularly referred to him as such, but with the distance of time and Carlos's warm, steady presence it seemed more and more like a mistake. Like more proof that he hadn't known what he really wanted. 

But it was a mistake that had nearly cost him his life, and his dad had a right to ask the question he was really asking. 

So he just squeezed his dad's shoulder. "Okay, so I was wrong before. It doesn't just hit different when it's your boyfriend." He met his dad's eyes, voice soft and utterly sincere. "It hits different because it's Carlos."

His dad searched his face, his own expression relaxing. Then he smiled. "Good to know."

**Author's Note:**

> Come check out my [original fiction,](https://jennifferwardell.wixsite.com/mybooks) my [blog,](http://jennifferwardell.blogspot.com) or say hi to me on [Tumblr](http://sanctuaryforalluniverses.tumblr.com)!


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